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SME Seminardb posted on July 29, 2009 22:47

“ADDING VALUE TO DEVELOP SMALL & MEDIUM BUSINESS INQATAR” A SEMINAR ORGANISED BY DOHA BANK

Doha Bank organized a knowledge sharing session highlighting thecurrent trends, growth prospects and the challenges faced by theSmall & Medium Business Enterprises [SMEs] in the State of Qataron the 28th July 2008 at Al Fayrouz Ballroom, Marriot Hotel, Doha,State of Qatar. The knowledge session was attended byAmbassadors, other dignitaries, Qatar Chamber of Commerceofficials, esteemed customers of Doha Bank, large numbers of small& medium businessmen, industrialists, analysts, economists, etc.,from across the State of Qatar.

Mr. R. Seetharaman, Chief Executive Officer, Doha Bank addressedthe gathering as the key note speaker. Speaking on the occasion, Mr.Seetharaman highlighted the current global crisis, its impact on thefunctioning of the global economy, the financial stability of the worldeconomies, the economic outlook on the world economies inconsideration to the current financial crisis and the policy changesthat are required at a macro-economic level and financial/monetarylevel to come out of the current financial crisis.

Mr. Seetharaman further elaborated how GCC and in specific theState of Qatar, have emerged as a role model for transformation oneconomic and social fronts. “State of Qatar has effectively followedthe true principles of globalization that is driving the world economiesthrough progressive liberalization and modernization under the astuteleadership of His Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, theEmir of the State of Qatar and His Highness Sheikh Tamim BinHamad Al-Thani, Heir Apparent of the State of Qatar” he said. Mr.Seetharaman further highlighted the socio-economic developmentprojects such as setting up of Qatar Financial Center, establishmentof world-class educational institutions and investment in largeinfrastructure projects. These developments across all the sectorshave created a sound platform for the growth of ancillary small andmedium enterprises (SME) in the coming years. Gauging thisparadigm shift, Doha Bank in its commitment to partner in State ofQatar’s growth has dedicated a specialized banking product“Tatweer”, which offers a comprehensive range of products andservices to meet the SME segment’s unique banking and financialneeds. Further, Mr. Seetharaman highlighted the success of SMEmodel in the world’s biggest economies like USA, Japan etc., andsaid “To enable State of Qatar to realize its Vision 2030 the roleplayed by the SME sector will be a strategic one. This is possiblethrough progressive collaboration among institutions committed to thedevelopment of SME sector, through stronger Public-PrivatePartnership in the coming years”.

Dr. Khalid Al-Hajri, General Manager, Qatar Chamber of Commerceand also the Guest of Honour for the evening while sharing histhoughts on SME business, highlighted the growing number oforganizations in the SME sector in the State of Qatar, the positivefactors influencing their growth and the challenges faced by them. Dr.Khalid also informed the august gathering the commitment ofGovernment of Qatar by way of their pro-active allocation of QAR 2billion towards the development of SME sector in the State of Qataras pronounced by H.E. The Prime Minister of Qatar. Dedicatedindustrial areas are also being set up for the SME sector. In his

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concluding remarks, Dr. Khalid said “Future is for SME sector andincreasing government interest by way of introduction of variousmeasures, will enable SME sector to play a strategic role in State ofQatar’s macro-economic performance.” He endorsed the Public-Private Partnership model for the development of SME sector in theState of Qatar.

As a part of this knowledge sharing seminar, a panel discussion titled“SME sector - Challenges & Solutions” was also held. The panel hadMs. Muna Al-Naimi, Director of Studies & Projects Department, QatarChamber of Commerce and Industry; Mr. Kofi Milumbe, ManagerIn-charge International Financial Reporting Standards, GrantThornton; Ms. Billye Atout, Senior Manager - Enterprise (A) - SmallEnterprises Business Solution Q-Tel and Mr. Kevin Cain, HeadWholesale Banking Doha Bank as the speakers. The panel sessionwas moderated by Mr. Seetharaman.

Ms. Muna Al-Naimi in her presentation highlighted the importance ofSME business sector to the overall macro-economic fundamentals,the growth and prospects of SME business sector in the State ofQatar and the key role and initiatives undertaken by Qatar Chamberof Commerce in the development of SME business sector in the Stateof Qatar. Ms. Muna also highlighted succinctly the challenges facedby SME business sector especially in the areas of marketing &distribution and also suggested solutions to overcome the challengesin marketing & distribution by way of collaboration with similarenterprises in the value-chain.

Mr. Kofi Milumbe spoke about the financial challenges faced by SMEbusiness sector on a generic basis and especially in the areas ofquality financial reporting and auditing. He also highlighted variousmeasures being currently worked by the International AccountingStandards Board specifically to address the financial challengesfacing SME business.

Ms. Billye Atout in her presentation gave a bird’s eye view of theQatar ICT landscape and highlighted the technological challengesfaced by SME business sector especially in the areas of IT resources,IT knowledge, IT security and IT customer service solutions. Ms.Billye outlined the technological challenges, the need fordifferentiated technological solutions to support the growth of SMEbusiness sector and suggested key decision choices to be made byrespective SME business to overcome these technologicalchallenges considering the respective nature of business.

Mr. Kevin Cain in his presentation covered the various businessmodels existing for SME business, the International FinanceCorporation classification of SME business, financial resourceconstraints faced by SME business, case-studies on SME banksacross the emerging market region, SME financing in the Middle Eastregion, SME finance product & service offerings existing, challengesfaced in respect of SME financing and suggested solutions toovercome the structural challenges.

A brief product presentation was made by the QTel team about theircustomized SME offering – “Office in a Box” communication solution.It covered the core features of the product, the various solutionsoffered, the advantages and benefits to the customer and the pricing.

This was followed by an informative audio visual product presentationof “Tatweer”, highlighting the unique offerings of this product to theSME sector. It covered the various financial products and servicesoffered, market positioning and the various add-ons. The presentationalso show cased a few customer feed back on their experience withTatweer.

Doha Souq – the “E-Mall solution” – was presented by one of thecustomers of Doha Bank. This presentation covered benefits offeredby e-commerce to the SME business segment in reducing their costsand at the same time providing a wider business developmentcoverage area through the high-end technological platform.

Dr. Magdi Iskander, an ex-World Banker shared his experiences onthe SME sector from the global perspective. He mentioned that SMEsector accounts for a minimum of 50% of the world’s GDP,constituting 51% of world’s manufacturing sector by volume and 33%of the world’s export by volume.

World wide, the SME sector provides employment to 31 millionpeople in 12.5 million organizations. He emphasized on the future

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focus and growth of SME sector through collaborations betweeninternational funding organizations like World Bank, IFC etc., withfinancial institutions like Doha Bank, who are committed to thedevelopment of SME sector. This can be done through stronger andeffective Public-Private Partnerships realizing sustainable benefits forthe overall welfare of the society and its people.

In recognition of Doha Bank’s ever-growing loyal customer base“Annual Tatweer Award” has been instituted by Doha Bank and thefirst annual award ceremony was held at the conclusion of the highlyinformative knowledge sessions. Mr. Mohamad Darwish - SevenSpectrum Company, Mr. Abdul Aziz – Ideal Home, Mr. Kifa El Musa –Jets Projects Company, Mr. Phani Yerrapragada – Srimalesh NVQand Mr. Shahid Malik – Tolico Trading were the first recipients of theaward.

The informative knowledge seminar concluded with vote of thanksfollowed by dinner.

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